Syndicate Bank recently launched smart cards for students of Karunya University in Coimbatore.

The bank’s deputy general manager Uday Shankar Majumdar told The Hindu that it planned to give the card to about 500 students initially for use in the canteen. The cards would be pre-loaded for minimum Rs. 500 or Rs. 1,000 each. The students could use the card in the canteen and the amount spent would be credited to the University’s account online. The card could also be used by the students as an access card within the University premises.

The use and requirements of the card would be studied and in six months to one year, the card would be upgraded for fee collection and other payments. Depending on its success, it could be given to other universities too.

Mr. Majumdar said use of such cards would bring down the requirement of manpower at several counters in an institution and move transactions to the online system. In the case of normal debit cards, several other security features and bank account were required. Hence, the bank decided to launch the product for students.

The card was launched by the bank’s Chairman and Managing Director M.G. Sanghvi here.